You'll soon be able to purchase an Xbox Cipher controller in red

Microsoft is kicking off 2025 with a new Xbox Cipher controller. This time, it’s sporting a vibrant red color.

Folks over at Dealabs have the juicy details about the upcoming special edition Xbox controller. It’s the Red Cipher, which builds up on the success of the Sky Cipher (blue) and Ghost Cipher (silver-y) from last year.

The Red Cipher will boast a bright red translucent design, which lets you see the inside of the controller, with garnet red buttons and back. Details of the exact release dates are still scarce, but the leaker expects a $69.99 / €69.99 price tag exclusively via the Microsoft Store. It’s even available now on Amazon for pre-order, with shipping in February (thanks for the spot, Alan Feely!).

In case you missed the hype or the look of the Sky Cipher controller, here it is. It’s almost a love letter and a homage to the 90s and 00s obsession with translucent-looking stuff. We don’t have details of how the red color looks on this controller, but you can imagine:

Xbox has released a gazillion of special editions of Xbox controllers. So, when the first Xbox Cipher controller dropped in blue for the first time, it was a refreshing look.

The Cipher series is perhaps Microsoft’s most eco-friendly version of the Xbox controllers, or at least that’s what the Redmond tech giant said. It has a “new packaging design” that removes the single-use plastics from the original Xbox controller and replaces its paper manual with a scannable QR code for start guides.

“Additionally, the packaging is now 22% smaller and 21% lighter, further reducing its environmental footprint (previously 177mm x 175.4mm x 72mm and 152.3g),” Microsoft mentioned further.